An Ontario university student livestreamed an apparent suicide attempt online Saturday while 200 people watched and encouraged him on a notorious website. The 20-year-old man was taken to hospital with serious injuries after he set his dorm room on fire.

The University of Guelph is working to remove video of the disturbing incident from a number of websites, Brenda Whiteside, vice-president of student affairs, told the National Post.

“We’ve been approaching each site individually,” Whiteside said. She added the university is posting a message from the school’s president on websites that are not removing the video.

Video of the incident was viewed live Saturday night but has been spread through social media and video aggregation websites.

“The university is aware that there is disturbing social media activity circulating about this incident and is urging people not to watch or distribute this hurtful material,” The University of Guelph said in a statement Monday, confirming the incident.

Whiteside said that the university has not yet spoken to the student, who is in hospital and being watched by his mother.

“We know he’s going to be OK,” she said.

A 20-year-old, identifying himself as “Stephen” on the frequently controversial 4chan messageboard, said he was planning on committing suicide and wanted to live broadcast the event for fellow members.

“This is it. Tonight I will be ending my own life. I’ve been spending the last hour making the preparations and I’m ready to go through with it. As (a longtime member) who’s been on 4chan since 2004, I thought I would finally give back to the community in the best way possible: I am willing to an hero (commit suicide) on cam for you all. All that I request is for you guys to link me to a site where I am able to stream it for you guys, then I will gladly fulfil my promise,” Stephen wrote Saturday evening.

In the video, which is still available online, Stephen swallowed unidentified pills with vodka and later set a fire in the room, as he crawled underneath his blankets. He updated his feed several times saying: “#imdead #omgimonfire.”

While some users told him to stop, many encouraged him and suggested alternative ways to take his life. The original livefeed, set up by a 4chan user on streaming site Chateen, was watched by 200 people and even more tried to view it (the maximum amount of concurrent viewers on Chateen is 200).

“Provide pics, room is full,” one user demanded.

Another user complained that “the smoke is obscuring the camera,” while others speculated on how long Stephen would live.

The video ends nearly 40 minutes in as firefighters enter the smoky room and remove the young man.

The fire was reported at 7:40 p.m. Saturday, about 90 minutes after the initial post to 4chan.

Police continued to investigate the fire Monday. Guelph police said two of its officers and two campus police officers were taken to hospital for smoke inhalation.

The university is waiting for police to finish their investigation before deciding on how to proceed with the student.

About 30 Guelph students have been temporarily relocated due to the fire. Exams started Monday and the university is working with professors on moving tests for the affected students.

The university held town halls and has made residence life staff available to speak to students about the incident. The University of Guelph had a mental health awareness week in late November.

“We have certainly given information to people about where they can go if they need to talk to people,” Whiteside said. “Our real focus right now is on the students.”

Under Canadian law, a person can be charged with counselling a person to commit suicide under Section 241 of the Criminal Code. A person can be found guilty whether or not the suicide takes place and can face up to 14 years in jail.

There have been previous online suicides broadcast live. In 2008, a Miami teen took his life as up to 1,500 watched. Kevin Whitrick, a British engineer, committed suicide in 2007 in a video chat room.

According to the Canadian Mental Health Association, suicide accounts for 24 per cent of all deaths among 15-through 24-year-olds.

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